Notes: Wolfman’s included an In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida tease. Hood featured Robbie McCoury on banjo, Ronnie McCoury on mandolin and Sam Bush on fiddle. I’m Blue I’m Lonesome, the Phish debut of Hold Whatcha Got, Uncle Pen, and Free Bird also included Del McCoury on guitar, Ricky Skaggs on mandolin, Mike Bub on upright double-bass, and Jason Carter on fiddle in addition to those already on stage. Free Bird featured Wynonna Judd on lead vocals and was played with full instrumentation, as opposed to the usual a cappella arrangement.

it was good to get phish back in the states. I actually grabbed 7th row tickets to this show off of ebay for way less than face value... very odd. I had been to this venue the year before. While it was a gang buster show, it was a little short due to massive rains, so we were ready for phish to bring it on this tour opener. by god, they did.

set 1:

First Tube: This one started in fairly predictable fashion. Mike was having very serious technical issues through out this song. By the end, they hammered most of them out. Once you could hear mike, it was a pretty straight foward version.

Wolfman's Brother: this was a nice solid '99 wolfman's. they really funked this one out before bringing down a nice in a gadda da vidda jam to close it out.

Beauty of My dreams: this was a nice version. they seemed to focus a little more on this one, being in nashville.

golgi: there were a few flubs. they got a little sloppy on this one and didn't sound quite right for the next couple songs. trey actually sounded really good; the rest of the band was not so hot.

limb by limb: once again, this was not the strongest version. they got a little lost in here.

bug: i hate this song. this is caspian kill me. it is a little bit more pallatable in the first set but none the less...

poor heart: like beauty of my dreams, they tightened up a bit on this one. this song brought me back in after a couple dud songs/performances. trey played some hot bluegrass licks

roggae: this is a real nice slower phish song. they killed this the year before with a who's who of nashville line up of guest. this may have been a little nod to that. either way good version.

chalk dust: this may be the best chalk dust i have seen. i was not overly impressed with the set up to this point, but this one rocked and gave me hope for a better 2nd set. trey smashed this one.... muy bueno

overall: not their most impressive set, but chalk dust rocked and wolfman's brother stood out.

set:

jibboo: once again, a pretty predictable, for the times, opener. this was played nice and with a bit of exploration tacked on the back side. they got into a little space funk groove that dropped into...

2001: oh we were starting to look like the memphis show the fall before, but hell, who cares? that show was great. this 2001 was one of the better ones of the summer. the gordo/fish rhythm section was in much better sync than they were in the first set. page was all over this one, while trey sat back on rhythm a bit more. this kicked into...

sand: this was another good version. as he was proned to do, he fiddled with that damn mini keyboard for a bit longer than i cared for... although any mini keyboard/trey action is more than i care for. play the guitar man! anyway, a very sharp dark/funky version.

harry hood: there were some good harry hoods in the summer of 2000, so it is appropriate that one be played on the opener. this one featured a ton of killer guests, adding a wonderful twist to this phish classic. the dog faced boy sandwich was interesting too. they kind of just popped it in there, but very good hood.

Blue Grass Time!! from here on is worth the blank discs/har drive space....

I'm Blue I'm Lonesome: there were some issues getting all the guests mic'ed in hood, but everyone was plugged in here. there was so much damn talent on the stage it really didn't matter what they played. everyone really brought it on this one.

Hold Whatcha Got: this is a funky little country/bluegrass number, and the mccoury boys, sam bush, etc really took charge on this one. at this point, phish was like a back up band for a monster bluegrass band. by the way, by the end of this song, gordo looked as happy as i'd ever seen him on stage.

uncle penn: oh yeah, breaking out some real classic bluegrass. this version was played pretty straight, but exceptional none the same. everyone took a little solo, and it really just kicked the crowd into blue grass high gear.

free bird: this one must be heard. wynona talked about her recent divorce before they started up the "electric!" free bird. wynona belted this one out, filling the holes with "oh trey oh trey oh trey" and some not so subtle passes on fish. hilarious stuff. the band and guests left to raucaus ovation.

enc:

yem: we were all hoping for another bluegrass throwdown, but no one was sad to settle for yem. trey fucked the arpeggios a bit, but once they got through the tramps/composed section they came out blazing. mike, especially, was absolutely sick. he got that space/funk thing flying. this might be the best i saw him play all summer.... must hear.

Overall: the first set is below average at best, with a few highlights. the second set started good and just kept getting better. must hear set!

Highlights: wolfman's brother, chalkdust torture, harry hood>dfb>hood, and everything after that. very good close to the second set. the complete opposite of what i had to say about the 3rd night at deer creek, which i just happened to review today...see you in cincy in a couple of weeks!!!

Epic show IMHO ....so many ripped up songs by all parties involved...First Tube opener!!!..followed by a jammed out Wolfman's...Bug is jammed very hard and trey is firing on all cylinders ...Roggae is played in a gorgeous, ambient groove....and this Chalk Dust is now in my top 5...killer ending to the set...the crowd is pumped!

Gotta Jibbo goes on and on in such a delightful way...the crowd is so into this show...Sand smokes...and the Robbie McCoury addition is pretty sweet....gotta give this is 5...would be a 8.5/10

1st set was a little weak until Chalkdust which absolutley ripped!! There were some great chalkdust's during summer 2000 (see holmdel and especially deer creek) but this one is king. Probably the best I've seen live. Definitely worth a spin. Set 2 was great and unique with the guests. Im not a big fan of guests at a phish show but they definitley made this work. Sand>hood>blugrass>freebird is amazing. Wynonna was awesome and into IT! Great time had by all and a fantastic way to start off tour! Spin that chalkdust and the whole set2. $$$
4/5

This show was absolutely phantastic !!!!! All shows get varying reviews and i won't and never will trash anyones opinion of any Phish show, including this one... But ... This is my favorite show !!!! There seemed to be a post cypress euphoria at all the 2000 shows. I LOVED this year!!!!

Set 1: 1st Tube is 1st Tube and this song will always make everyone happy. Problems with Mike's sound could not bring the vibe down.(Post Cypress Euphoria,i'm telling ya) Wolfman's was sick from start to finish, it was funky but a little more upbeat and it rocked as well. Beauty of My Dreams was perfect. Some have said the Golgi was average but from where i was standing it was a total crowd pleaser! Limb by Limb is always fantastic and on this night Trey killed it. Bug was one of my favorite "new" songs at the time, so i was happy to hear it.(And still am). Poor Heart was smoking but Roggae was just beautiful, melodic and sweet to the ears. The Chalk Dust closer was totally rocking the whole time!(Trey Again!) The best version i've witnessed of Chalk Dust Torture!!!! Hands Down ! Loved this set!!!!!!

Set 2: Gotta Jibboo>2001. I witnessed this same set opening combo in memphis on 9-29-99. (Not a complaint) Jibbo is my cup of tea and thats just the way it is. The 2001 that followed wasn't 20 minutes plus like the one from the memphis show(Not a Complaint) but it was thick with the "Phish 2000" sound that i adore and it segued into Sand. This completed the "Farmhouse" groove/rave song selection.(1st Tube, Gotta Jibbo and Sand) I love them all and i am glad they chose all three on this night. Sand had a lot of atmosphere and it melted into Harry Hood . Now, Hood has always been my favorite song and i know there are a TON of great versions but this one had a personality all its own. The intro fades down and then Dog Faced Boy emerges. YES YES!! A very weird and unique placement of a cool little ditty, it is completed, then... drum roll... BOOM! Back to the Hood intro and i fucking love how Fishman goes crazy on the drums right before the vocals start. Hood>DFB>Hood with mandolins and fiddle in the build up...uh...YEAH!!!!!!!. This will ALWAYS be my favorite version of both Harry Hood and Dog Faced Boy. Onto the mini-bluegrass set with the Del McCoury Band, Sam Bush and the man himself, Ricky Skaggs! I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome(The last version to date) with Ricky Skaggs wailing on the vocals was freaking awesome.(Is this why Phish hasn't played it again after years of doing so? Next, Hold Whatcha Got was smoking as phish just sit back and let the guest takeover.(No ego involved,LOVE THIS BAND) This was a debut for Phish and more than likely a one timer, a my timer if you like. Next, Uncle Pen was bound to show up and thanks to the music gods... it did ! A very nice segment to an already stellar show. So what do you do after all that awesomeness, well you invite Wynonna Judd out to sing Free Bird !!!! No a cappella this time. (1st electric Free Bird performed by Phish since the 80's?!?!) Wynonna sang her heart out and EVERYONE dug it!!!!! Fantastic way to close a set. Set 2 started out with the "Phish 2000" sound and turned into a bluegrass shindig with a southern rock anthem to bring it all home. Can you believe it? Southern rock performed by a prog/improvisational/jazz quartet with bluegrass and country special guest. What a set!!!!!

E: You Enjoy Myself was a perfect encore and i loved the sweet harmonies in the vocal jam at the end, heavenly sounds to close an unbelievable show. Post Cypress Euphoria, i'm telling ya !

Highlights: Sets 1 and 2 and the encore. ALL OF IT.

Harry Hood>Dog Faced Boy>Harry Hood has never been attempted again. As of this date it was the last time Phish played I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome and the only time they played Hold Whatcha Got. It was the first electric Free Bird in 13 years and also the last?!?!!? So many little things make me love this show but in the end ... it wasn't the guest or the interesting combo in set 2 ... it was, to put it simply, PHISH.

And to my brother Jeff Bumgarner, who witnessed all of this with me..... maybe one day we will find our damned hotel. HAHAHAHAHA.

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